The man who stalked and videotaped ESPN anchor Erin Andrews has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison and ordered to pay a total of $12,366 in restitution. Andrews, 31, was victimized by 48 year-old insurance executive Michael Barrett, who booked hotel rooms next to her in three or more states, often filming her covertly from peepholes. His video of the sportscaster nude was initially pitched to adult websites and became an Internet sensation. In a statement to the court, Andrews said that the video will probably always be available online and that she is still “being victimized every day.” She said that she has nightmares and anxiety and has had to hire security for protection.
A Chicago-area man who posted a nude video of ESPN reporter Erin Andrews on the Internet – after filming her through her hotel door – was sentenced to federal prison Monday.
Michael David Barrett, 49, of Westmont, Illinois, received a 2 1/2-year term and was ordered to pay $7,366 in restitution to Andrews, who is also a contestant this season on Dancing With the Stars.
Barrett admitted that he stalked Andrews for 18 months, tracking her to at least three different hotel rooms in three states in 2008. He made the video after removing the peephole from her door in one of the hotel rooms and used his mobile phone to capture video of Andrews while she was naked.
At the hearing, Andrews told U.S. District Judge Manuel L. Real of the fear, anxiety and public humiliation that she suffers as a result of having been stalked.
“I’m being victimized every day … and I did nothing to deserve it,” she said, adding the videos will likely always be on the Internet. Real noted that Andrews will suffer for the rest of her life.
Prosecutors told the court that Barrett posted on the Internet another 32 videos that showed another 16 as-yet-unidentified victims.
[From People]
Radar Online has more of Andrews’s statement along with Barrett’s statement to the court. They also have a video of her press conference after the hearing. She said she’s pleased with the judge’s ruling given the parameters he was working with but that she would have liked a longer sentence. Andrews also emphasized that Barrett had many other victims. She said she received “A ton of letters from victims of stalking and video voyeurism that said ‘please fight this.” She also emphasized that she’s still dealing with the trauma from being violated. “Google my name, see what happens… I didn’t deserve this… The 16 other women [Barrett victimized]… didn’t deserve this.‘”
Can you imagine finding nude videos of yourself online and having no idea at first who recorded them? I really hope that Andrews’s civil lawsuit is successful, although it’s likely that the guy is completely broke now and won’t be able to pay much her more than the $7,366 dollars he was ordered to, if that.
After all that Andrews has gone through, she has something positive to look forward to. She’ll be a contestant on the upcoming season of Dancing with The Stars, which starts airing next Monday, March 22.
I don’t think the sentence was nearly harsh enough. I can only imagine how Erin feels. I would be absolutely devastated if this happened to me…luckily I’m neither famous nor have I ever been a victim of stalking. Unless something is done about these a-holes, society is doomed and no one is safe.
Maybe now he will understand what is like to have someone watching in your most private moments… while sitting in jail. But I doubt it. These douche bags never learn.
That’s it?! The man not only stalked her but filmed her nude and released it to the world! Jesus, that’s a hell of a lot to live with it. And for that he’s only in jail for a few years.
He’ll just get out and do it to some other woman. He’ll never stop. Worse, he’ll probably just escalate.
That sentence is far to lenient for me, I think 5-10 years would be more appropriate. I hope she wins more in her civil suit. I doubt she’ll ever see a penny of it but its the principle, maybe it will set up new laws/punishment for these types of crimes. Its sickening to think thats all he got.
LOVE this woman. She’s one of the only female sports-casters I’ve seen that straddles the line of being a woman in a man’s world perfectly. She doesn’t try to be manly or “one of the guys” or overcompensate for her gender, but she doesn’t play on her feminity/sexuality during interviews either. She is cool as a cucumber, confident, knowledgeable, engaging, and charming. I LOVE her.
That is so scary and so sick. I can’t imagine how I’d hold up if it had been my privacy violated in such a way.
It sickens me that stalking is STILL not taken seriously. Two and a half years? Give me a break! He put this woman through hell personally by making her scared to be in her own home. And to top it all off, he violated her privacy further by publicly humiliating her for the entire internet to see. Not to mention, he could have kidnapped, raped, and/or killed her.
This man needs intensive therapy and lifelong GPS monitoring. He’s a danger to all women.
ugh.. that sentence is far too short. at the very least he deserves a good 5 years for EACH woman whose pics he posted online!
the anti-stalking laws in this country (i’m american) are far too lenient. stalking is hell. The victim has her very humanity ignored and is treated as a plaything over and over again, usually by someone she doesn’t know, and since she has no bruises the police are all “oh whatever… he’s not hurting you”
and then the pics are online so even more strangers can view her as a thing for their prurient pleasures!
and it never goes away.